Processing abstract language modulates motor system activity

Embodiment theory proposes that neural systems for perception and action are also engaged during language comprehension. Previous neuroimaging and neurophysiological studies have only been able to demonstrate modulation of action systems during comprehension of concrete language. We provide neurophysiological evidence for modulation of motor system activity during the comprehension of both concrete and abstract language. In Experiment 1, when the described direction of object transfer or information transfer (e.g., away from the reader to another) matched the literal direction of a hand movement used to make a response, speed of responding was faster than when the two directions mismatched (an action-sentence compatibility effect). In Experiment 2, we used single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation to study changes in the corticospinal motor pathways to hand muscles while reading the same sentences. Relative to sentences that do not describe transfer, there is greater modulation of activity in the hand muscles when reading sentences describing transfer of both concrete objects and abstract information. These findings are discussed in relation to the human mirror neuron system.     

Relative quantity judgment by Asian elephants (Elephas maximus)

This study investigated whether Asian elephants can make relative quantity judgment (RQJ), a dichotomous judgment of unequal quantities ordered in magnitude. In Experiment 1, elephants were simultaneously shown two baskets with differing quantities of bait (up to 6 items). In Experiment 2, elephants were sequentially presented with baits, which could not be seen by elephants in their total quantities. The task of elephants was to choose the larger quantity in both experiments. Results showed that the elephants chose the larger quantity with significantly greater frequency. Interestingly, the elephants did not exhibit disparity or magnitude effects, in which performance declines with a smaller difference between quantities in a two-choice task, or the total quantity increases, respectively. These findings appear to be inconsistent with the previous reports of RQJ in other animals, suggesting that elephants may be using a different mechanism to compare and represent quantities than previously suggested for other species.     

Mottainai: a Japanese sense of anima mundi

The Japanese expression ‘Mottainai!’ can be translated as ‘What a waste!’ or ‘Don't be wasteful!’ However, mottainai means much more than that. It expresses a sense of concern or regret for whatever is wasted because its intrinsic value is not properly utilized. Buddhism and Japan's indigenous religion, Shinto, are integral to the Japanese psyche, accordingly the other‐than‐human world is also experienced and lived in daily life. In the Japanese worldview everything in nature is endowed with spirit, every individual existence is dependent on others and all are connected in an ever‐changing world. Mottainai offers a glimpse of the anima mundi inherent in this worldview. This contrasts with our anthropocentric Zeitgeist, which manifests outwardly as environmental crisis and inwardly as fixation upon social interactions, especially through communication technologies, to the exclusion of all else. Jung's statement, ‘The decisive question for man is: Is he related to something infinite or not? That is the telling question of his life’, has never been more pertinent. Encounters beyond the human world could be understood as touching this ‘something infinite’, and the apparent benefits of such experiences in the analytical process are illustrated with clinical vignettes from the author's practice.     

Spontaneous facial mimicry in response to dynamic facial expressions

Based on previous neuroscientific evidence indicating activation of the mirror neuron system in response to dynamic facial actions, we hypothesized that facial mimicry would occur while subjects viewed dynamic facial expressions. To test this hypothesis, dynamic/static facial expressions of anger/happiness were presented using computer-morphing (Experiment 1) and videos (Experiment 2). The subjects' facial actions were unobtrusively videotaped and blindly coded using Facial Action Coding System [FACS; Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. (1978). Facial action coding system. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologist]. In the dynamic presentations common to both experiments, brow lowering, a prototypical action in angry expressions, occurred more frequently in response to angry expressions than to happy expressions. The pulling of lip corners, a prototypical action in happy expressions, occurred more frequently in response to happy expressions than to angry expressions in dynamic presentations. Additionally, the mean latency of these actions was less than 900 ms after the onset of dynamic changes in facial expression. Naive raters recognized the subjects' facial reactions as emotional expressions, with the valence corresponding to the dynamic facial expressions that the subjects were viewing. These results indicate that dynamic facial expressions elicit spontaneous and rapid facial mimicry, which functions both as a form of intra-individual processing and as inter-individual communication.     

Beyond Dichotomy—Towards Creative Synthesis

There are two ways for overcoming limitations of methods used in psychology, as Toomela (Integr. Physiol. Behav. Sci. doi:, 2007) points out. These are inventing new methods of research, and looking back into the history of methodological thought for new ideas. Though he limited the former as if it is a quantitative area and he declared to take the latter path, his paper actually advocates the need to create new methodology for understanding the human psyche through historical approach. We discuss problems of sampling and generalization in that context, and suggest a new way to creative synthesis through elaboration of qualitative methodologies. To us this direction constitutes an updated version of the German–Austrian methodology exactly as Toomela suggests.

School-Based Intervention Program Based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Japanese Students Affected by the Hiroshima Heavy Rain Disaster of July 2018

This study examined the effects of a group cognitive behavioral intervention on senior school students affected by the Hiroshima heavy rain disaster and investigated the effects of reducing depression by enhancing resilience. A total of 229 second-grade senior school students affected by the Hiroshima heavy rain disaster participated in the study. The intervention was performed in the following order: psychological education on daily stress, problem-solving training for daily stress, psychological education on traumatic reactions derived from traumatic experiences, and instruction on the merits of utilizing information acquired from the intervention in daily life. The results showed that the high-depression group's depression score was reduced by the intervention. Resilience score was increased both in the high- and low-depression groups as a result of the intervention. Therefore, the intervention program used in this study was proven effective in reducing depression and improving resilience. Prospectively, strategies for psychological support during and after large-scale disasters should be established by applying the findings obtained in this research.     

Dissociative experience and mood-dependent memory

Amnesia is the main phenomenon in dissociative experiences. The present study investigated whether amnesia in participants with frequent dissociative experiences depended on state-dependent memory. Undergraduates scoring high (n=32) or low (n=32) on the Dissociative Experiences Scale Version-II (DES-II) participated in this experiment. Mood induction and a remember/know task were used in a typical mood-independent memory design. In the inconsistent mood state condition, participants in the high DES group showed decreased memory performance compared to the low DES group. These results were attributed to the recollection components of recognition and not to the familiarity component. Therefore we concluded that the normal population with highly frequent dissociative experiences showed strong state-dependent memory and had a memory bias in the recollection component of memory.     

Microwave-induced heating of a single glassy phase and a two-phase material consisting of a metallic glass and Fe powder

Metallic glasses exhibit low viscosity in a temperature range between the glass transition and the crystallization temperature, a feature that allows successful sintering of glassy powders. Microwave heating, being volumetric, has significant advantages over conventional heating in materials processing, such as substantial energy savings, high heating rates and process cleanliness. In the present study, we investigate the stability of Cu₅₀Zr₄₅Al₅ glassy powders and the formation of a bulk two-component metallic glassy-crystal sample by microwave heating in a single-mode cavity (915 MHz) in an alternating magnetic field.     

First-principles investigation of bowing parameter in zinc-blende ScxGa1−xN

Helium generated in materials by the nuclear reaction (n,?α) is generally considered to be harmful. It is well-known that helium prompts not only the nucleation of interstitial-type dislocation loops, but also the nucleation of voids in metals and alloys irradiated with high-energy particles, which degrades their mechanical properties. In this study, however, we find that helium trapped by dislocations in Ni increases both the ultimate tensile strength and total elongation.